Total and labile soil organic nitrogen as influenced by crop rotations and tillage in Canadian prairie soils

Abstract

Crop rotations and tillage practices influence the quantity and quality of soil organic N (SON). We evaluated the impact of crop rotations and tillage practices on SON and mineralizable N at a depth of 0–15 cm in six field experiments, varying in duration over 8–25 years, that were being conducted in three Chernozemic soil zones in Saskatchewan, Canada. In a Brown Chernozem, continuous wheat increased SON at 0–15 cm by 7–17 kg N ha−1year−1 more than fallow/wheat. In a Dark Brown Chernozem, continuous cropping increased SON by 30 kg N ha−1year−1, compared with cropping systems containing fallow once every 3 years; and, in a Rego Black Chernozem, the increase in SON was 29 kg N ha−1 year−1, compared with cropping systems containing fallow once every 4 years. The increase in SON due to increased cropping frequency was accompanied by an increase in the proportion of mineralizable SON in the Brown Chernozem, but not in the Dark Brown and Black Chernozems. In the Brown Chernozemic soil zone, no-tillage management increased SON, compared with conventional tillage, varying from 16 kg N ha−1year−1 to 28 kg N ha−1year−1. In the Dark Brown Chernozemic soil zone, it increased SON by 35 kg N ha−1year−1 and, in the Black Chernozemic soil zone, by about 40 kg N ha−1year−1. Increases in SON at a depth of 0–7.5 cm due to no-tillage management was accompanied by a greater increase in the mineralizable N for Hatton fine sandy loam, Melfort silty clay and Indian Head clay than for other soils, indicating that the material responsible for the increased SON due to no-tillage was more labile than the soil humus N. However, the increased SON under no-till in Swinton loam, Sceptre clay and Elstow clay loam was not associated with an increase in the mineralizable N, indicating that this increased SON was no more susceptible to decomposition than the soil humus N. Therefore, increases in SON under improved management practices, such as conservation tillage and extended crop rotations, do not necessarily increase the potential soil N availability.